Email Tools That Keep Your Inbox (and You) Sane

Did you make a new year’s resolution to get your inbox into shape? You are not alone. Millions of people resolve each year to get organized, but knowing where to start is the hardest part.

There is no denying that Gmail is huge. In just under 15 years, Google’s signature email client has become one of the widest used email programs in the world. The company recently announced that it serves over 1.5 billion users. Yes, that’s BILLION!

Often cited for being a little unruly, Gmail is one of the most talked about in terms of email productivity hacks. Here are our favorite email tools that make using Gmail a little less of a headache:

What do you do with an email if you aren’t quite ready to read it, take action, or need to send a follow up at a later date? My guess is that it makes its way to the bottom of your inbox. With Snooze, you can set a custom time for the email to reappear so you can take action when you are ready. No more lost emails or forgotten action items! Click here to get this email tool.

This add-on fully integrates the very popular cloud-based storage service with your Gmail account. Handy for adding attachments to an email and for saving attachments as well. Definitely a click saver! Click here to get this email tool.

Travel warriors will rejoice at this suggestion. Gmail Offline was built to support offline access, allowing mail to be read, responded to, searched and archived without network access. It’s really a must-add! Click here to get this email tool.

Is your inbox like a shiny object? Remove the distraction with this handy extension. Inbox When Ready allows you to: 1.) Hide your Inbox so you cannot see what comes in or what needs to be done other than the task at hand. 2.) Let’s you set an “inbox budget” on how many times you check your inbox or total time spent in email. 3.) Lockout your inbox so you can truly focus on work and then batch process your email. This is a productivity-plus tool! Click here to get this email tool.

Designed to act as your file cabinet, ClearContext auto files your messages – including bulk messages from senders like Facebook and LinkedIn – or offers one-click filing of messages you want to archive. ClearContext also has built-in task, follow up, and scheduling tools. All of this is summed up nicely on their easy-to-read Dashboard that helps declutter Outlook. Click here to get this email tool.

Are you a list maker? Some of us still love old-fashioned pen and paper, but even we can miss a task when we have a cluttered and overfilled inbox. Enter Wunderlust. This Outlook add-in helps get tasks out of your inbox and onto your to-do lists. You can also share your to-do lists with other team members, which helps when you are working on a large project or will be out of the office. You can’t do that with your paper list! Click here to get this email tool.

How much time do you waste finding the perfect time to set a meeting, especially with a large group?! This add-in will be a super time-saver. FindTime scours your co-workers’ calendars and finds the best possible time to meet. It even goes as far as to schedule the meeting. It’s like having your own personal assistant. Click here to get this email tool.